Author: St. Elizabeth Healthcare

Coming home after a long day can be relaxing until a stark realization hits you: You forgot to get something out for dinner. You scramble around the kitchen looking for leftovers or something quick and easy. And then you remember those three or four little boxes you almost always keep in your pantry for nights like this: Tuna Helper, mac ‘n cheese, spaghetti and any other variety of boxed meal that just has to be thrown in the pan. You probably feel guilty if you eat these more than once a week because you know they don’t contain all the…

If you want to surprise your valentine with a gift that won’t rot his or her teeth, consider essential oils. Aroma is a powerful force The fragrance of an essential oil can directly affect everything from your emotional state to your lifespan. When a fragrance is inhaled, the airborne odor molecules travel up the nostrils to the parts of the brain that control taste and emotional memories. These areas are directly connected to the parts of brain that control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels and hormone balance. Because the limbic system is directly connected to those parts…

Do you know when someone is  lying to you? Some people just have that innate ability to become a human lie detector  when you aren’t telling the truth. You can put your lie detecting skills to the test with the New York Times new interactive quiz. The quiz comes from a University of Chicago study based in the premise that liars have a “tell.” You know – those small moves that betray the liar’s true intentions. At the end of the quiz, you can even join the university’s next liar study. Didn’t do so hot? Pamela Meyer’s TED talk can…

Have you seen “American Sniper?” It was just released locally two weeks ago, and – at least to  me – it seems like everyone has already seen it. Beyond my immediate family and friends who can’t stop talking about the movie, I’m seeing endless commentary on Facebook, Twitter and from major news organizations. Rather than go into all of the details of the debate, we’d like to address another topic of conversation related to the movie: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that can occur after you’ve seen or experienced a traumatic event which  involved…

People with diabetes need to care for their feet all year round, but in the winter, foot care is especially important. Diabetes tends to cause reduced circulation and nerve damage in the feet and lower legs, which means reduced feeling in the feet.   Couple that with cold, wet winter conditions, and there’s a greater risk that cuts, scrapes or blisters could lead to serious complications, including infection, nerve damage and even amputations, down the line, according to the American Diabetes Association. Here are a few tips to keep your tootsies healthy during cold weather: Inspect your feet daily…

How does your family stay fit in the winter? Fencing? Hockey? Figure skating? Maybe a little karate? No? Well, why not?! You can learn each of these skills right here in Greater Cincinnati. Introduce variety If your little one isn’t sure which sport to undertake, try one or two classes at Kids First Sports Center on Kemper Road. Programs include tumbling, gymnastics, swimming by Hubbard Family Swim School, yoga with Pooja, fencing hosted by Salle Du Lion and karate by Nishime Family Karate. The center is also home to Queen City Storm cheerleading, the Ronnie Grandison Basketball Academy and…

February is American Heart Month in which organizations across the country come together to save lives and beat heart disease. St. Elizabeth Healthcare is committed to reducing heart-related deaths in Northern Kentucky by 25 percent before 2025. One of the most important health and wellness choices you can make is to be a partner in your own healthcare. The era of the physician being fully responsible for our healthcare is past. We now have “some skin in the game” and are key players in the disease prevention portion of our own optimal functioning.   Here are key numbers to know…

Whether it’s an insurance commercial trying to “pump you up” or visions of burly guys spending hours in the gym, most people think of lifting weights only as a way to gain mass. During the past few years, weight lifting started growing in popularity with women ““ and we aren’t doing it to get big biceps. I can’t scroll through my Facebook news feed without seeing a woman who picked up body building or Crossfit sharing selfies every chance she gets. This makes me wonder about the health benefits beyond a self-confidence boost. And, what about the myth that muscle…

We may not have been directly hit by #Blizzard2015 this week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t cuddle up with someone for a warm hug here in the Midwest. It turns out warm hugs may not only help keep the frigidness of a wintry blizzard away, but they may also have positive health benefits, both mentally and physically. Anyone who has ever experienced positivity emitted through a good, warm hug can attest to this. Researchers wanted to determine whether this phenomenon is founded in science, and explained the results of a recent study, which you can read on WCPO.com. For…

Full disclosure: I am a devoted McDee’s fan. I know it’s bad for me, so I don’t eat there every day, but it is my guilty pleasure food. I know plenty of people who hate McDonald’s, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard how bad it is to eat under those golden arches. Every time I take a trip through the drive-thru, my friends’ scolding voices haunt me” “You know there are zero nutrients in that cheeseburger.” “Those fries are just filled with calories, fat and sodium.” It’s all true. McDonald’s lays out the nutritional information on…